UNIT 6: THE EARLY MODERN AGES: 15TH TO 16TH

CENTURIES
INDEX
1. The humanism
2. The age of discoveries
1. Causes
2. Portugal and Castile
3. Portugal vs. Castile
3. The modern state: Authoritarian monarchies
4. Religious changes: Reformation and counter-reformation
1. Causes
2. The reformation
3. The counter-reformation: The catholic and Council of
Trent
TIMELINE
 1. HUMANISM
• Intellectual movement that wants to restore
the Greek and Latinthat was centered into
human beings
• Classic Antiquity as a model
• Human being as center of the universe
• It was extended thanks to the prints, academics
and travels
 1. HUMANISM

HUMANISTIC CHARACTERISTIC AUTHORS

Philosophy and Traslate the classical text from Greek and Latin, by learning Pico della Mirandola
literacy Greek and Latin Nicolo Maquiavelo

Once read and traslate the classical texts, tried to mix the
Erasmo of Rotterdam
Religious classical thought of Plato and Aristotle with the Christian
and Thomas More
message

Try to explain the phenomena of nature by reason, observation

Cientific Niccolo Coppernicus
and experimentation
 2. AGES OF DISCOVERIES: Causes

Politics

• Expand their
frontiers
• Obtain gold and
silver
• Personal glory
 2. AGES OF DISCOVERIES: Causes
Politics

• Expand their frontiers

• Obtain gold and silver
• Personal glory

Economics

• Fall of Constantinple
• Look for a new maritime
route to go to India, China,
Sudan and North of Africa
 2. AGES OF
DISCOVERIES: Causes
Cientific and technics

• Diffusion of new books of Antiquity

• Advance of cartography: worldmap and
portulanos
• New navigation techniques: astrolab and
sextern
• New ships: caravel and nao
 2. AGES OF DISCOVERIES: Causes

Ideologics

• Wish to combat the unfaithful

• Extend the cristianism
• Eagerness of adventure to
achieve fame and wealthness
 2. AGES OF DISCOVERIES: PORTUGAL

• Henry the Navigator

promoted navigation and
exploration voyages around
the African coast

• Explorations:
• Batolome Días
• Vasco da Gama
 2. AGES OF DISCOVERIES: CASTILE
• Cristopher Columbus
• Capitulations of Santa Fe
• 3 voyages
• Other explorers:
• Vasco Núñez de Balboa:
• Magellan and Elcano
 2. AGES OF DISCOVERIES: PORTUGAL
VS. CASTILE
• Treaty of Alcaçovas (1479):

• Treaty of Tordesillas (1494):

• 370 leagues west

• Treaty of Zaragoza (1529):

• Asia
 3. THE MODERN STATES:
AUTHORITARIAN MONARCHIES
The King has the political power, limits the power of nobility and it’s
supported by the wealthy bourgeoisie. This can happen because of an
efficient burocreacy and the army

Territorial Control of Improve International

Standing army
unification state Powers: administration relationships

Bureaucracy or Replace the feudal

Involving
Through wars or Dominated high profesional officials tropos, the King can
permanente
marriage alliances nobility paid for its own
Control the taxes ambassadors
army

Summoning the
Parliament few
times
 FEUDAL MONARCHY
vs.AUTHORITARIAN MONARCHY
FEUDAL AUTHORITARIAN

King is a primus inter pares King power comes from god

King has the same powers of nobility King has all the Powers

Nobility act as a vassal towards the king Nobility is limited

Nobility supports with its armies King can pay its own army

Little burocracy and money Much burocracy and money

Relieable of the Parliament and nobility and Little reliability of parliament, nobility and
clergy clkergy. Much of the bourgeoisie
 4. THE RELIGIOUS CHANGES: Causes
• Decline in Prestige of the clergy and Pope
• Lived luxuriously and did not set a moral example
• Church abuses:
• Selling of indulgence document
 4. THE REFORMATION
Martin Luther (Empire)
• Justification by faith
• Only two sacraments
• Rejected the Pope’s authority
Henry VIII
• Proclaimed himself head of the
Church of England
John Calvin (Switzerland)
• Based on predestination
• Calvinist in France are
Huguenots and in England are
Puritans
WARS OF RELIGION:
• Peasants War in Germany
• Smalkaldic War in Germany
• Eighty Years War in Netherlands
• Wars of religion in England and
France
4. THE COUNTER-
REFORMATION: The
council of Trent

 Faith and deeds were necesary to

salvation
 Church could only interpret the Bible
 Pope had authority
 7 sacraments
 Seminaries to teach the priest
 Obligation of bishops to reside in their
diocesis